ILOILO – A total of 16,998 tourists visited this province in the first three months of 2018, data from the Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) showed.
The 5th District in northern Iloilo attracted 5,262 visitors (5,243 domestic and 19 foreign).
The district is made up of the municipalities of Ajuy, Balasan, Barotac Viejo, Batad, Carles, Concepcion, Estancia, Lemery, San Dionisio, San Rafael, and Sara.
The 1st District in southern Iloilo – composed of the towns of Guimbal, Miag-ao, Oton, Tigbauan, San Joaquin, Igbaras, and Tubungan – had 3,929 tourist arrivals. Of these, 3,872 were domestic, 54 foreign and three overseas Filipinos.
The rest of the tourist arrivals were as follows:
* 2nd District – 3,307 (3,199 domestic, 108 foreign
* 3rd District – 2,321 (2,318 domestic, three foreign
* 4th District – 2,179 (2,155 domestic, 19 foreign)
The 2nd District is made up of the towns of Alimodian, Leganes, Leon, New Lucena, Pavia, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Zarraga while the 3rd District consists of the municipalities of Badiangan, Bingawan, Cabatuan, Calinog, Janiuay, Lambunao, Maasin, Mina, and Pototan.
On the other hand, the component city of Passi and seven towns (Anilao, Banate, Barotac Nuevo, Dingle, Dueñas, Dumangas, San Enrique) make up the 4th District.
PTO also reported that 165,939 excursionists (one day visit, no overnight stay) visited the province between January to April this year.
According to Provincial Tourism Officer Gilbert Marin, the mushrooming of resorts contributed to the increase in tourist arrivals.
“Damo amenities gina-offer ang mga resorts compared to previous years,” said Marin.
Tourism promotion via social media also helped, he added, plus the affordable rates in Iloilo.
Marin said tourist arrivals would likely increase this second quarter (April, May and June) due to the six-month closure of Boracay Island in Aklan province for rehabilitation.
Iloilo province attracted 310,878 tourists last year – higher than 2016’s 252,323 and 2015’s 206,204, PTO data showed./PN
